A Final Farewell
by Sonochu
Summary: Sam's grandma is admitted to the hospital after a heart attack. What is to come of this?


**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.**

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Sam still had trouble understanding what happened. Her grandma, one of the most important people in her life, just had a heart attack and had to be rushed to Amity Park's hospital by an ambulance. As soon as Sam's father found out, he picked up Sam and quickly sped off toward the hospital too. Sam's mom didn't come though because she was across the country visiting one of their family owned factories. When Danny found out he told her he would get there as soon as he could. Counting on the fact that he fights ghosts for a living, that would take some time. Tucker was tempted to step in the hospital for Sam, she needed some companionship after all, but after nearly having a panic attack, he gave up. So now Sam and her father sat on the second floor of the hospital, otherwise known as the Intensive Care Unit waiting room.

Sam looked around the room trying to find something to do. After all, it has been a couple hours since Ida Manson has been admitted into the hospital and neither Sam nor her father were able to see her yet. Sam needed something to speed up the wait. She spotted a couple more poor souls also in the waiting room. They were all on their phones either texting or playing some game. _Why are they on their phones at a time like this? Don't they know how serious it is to be put in the ICU?_

Sam's father just stared at the wall. She called out to him several times, but he seemed to be too out of it to answer.

Sam noticed a magazine sitting on the table next to her and picked it up. It was titled 'How to Get Your Kid to Behave_.'_

Sam's parents never did get her to fit to her standards. When Sam became too much for her parents, they always went on a vacation and left her to her grandma. Her grandmother must have dealt with kids a lot because no matter what Sam did, whether it was color on the walls, scream, break an object, or otherwise be a nuisance, her grandmother always handled it calmly and never got mad. There was a time when Sam was incredibly angry with her parents for leaving her so she tried her best to irritate her grandmother, but she never got mad once. She was the best babysitter Sam could ask for.

A nurse walked inside the waiting room and over to Sam's father.

"Are you Jeremy Manson?"

Said man just stared at the wall. The nurse waved her hand in front of the man's field of vision.

"Mr. Manson?"

She eventually put her hand on his arm and shook while repeating what she said.

"Mr. Manson?"

This time she got a response out of him. He got out of his daze and looked at her.

"What, did something happen to my mother ?"

The nurse gave a smile but Sam could see that the nurse was very tired. She didn't seem fully awake and moved ever so slightly slower than the normal person.

"No, she seemed to have a heart attack but we were able to save her. We would like to monitor her for the night and tomorrow she can return home. You should go home too. There is nothing you can do and no sense losing sleep over it."

Sam's father didn't seem entirely convinced.

"Can we see her?"

The nurse's smile faltered for a second.

"Because we are moving her out of ICU, you will have to follow normal visiting hours and it is too late to visit."

Sam's father looked at the ground and she could have sworn she saw a drop of water fall from his face.

"Come on Samantha, it is time to go. There is no reason for us to stay."

Sam's father got out of his seat and walked out of the waiting room with Sam closely following behind. They made it to their and drove home in silence. Sam was trying to figure out exactly how close her dad was to her grandmother. They didn't seem to be as close as her father acted. They usually got into an argument over the treatment of Sam. Maybe they used to he closer before Sam's mother came.

At home, Sam called Danny to tell him that it was already to late and he should probably head home. He sounded a little sad, but agreed and headed back to his house. Her father also called his brother Greg. Greg lived a little ways away so they never got to see each other but this was pretty important. Sam tried to get some sleep, but she was too worried about her grandma to be able to rest. _What happens if something goes wrong. What if her heart gives out. Maybe it was worse than the doctors thought. Maybe she is really dying but the doctors didn't want us to worry._

Those thoughts kept flowing through San's head throughout the night. She was eventually able to fall asleep around 3am, but the ringing of a phone woke her up an hour later. She got out of bed and rushed to the phone to see her father already answering it. She stood in silence, trying to figure out who it was while her father paced around the main room of their mansion.

"How could that happen? You said she was perfectly fine and there was nothing to worry about! Yes, I understand that the situation has changed, but you were supposed to help her! I am coming down there right now!"

Sam's father slammed the phone into the receiver and covered his face with his eyes. Sam slowly walked up to her dad. She knew that whatever the call was had to be bad news or else her father wouldn't be upset.

"Dad, what happened?"

Sam's father uncovered his eyes and she could see they were slightly red with water running down his face.

_Is he crying? Dad never cries. I have never seen him cry before._

He took in a breath to hold back a sob.

"My mother's heart started shutting down and now her lungs aren't working properly either. Something is also wrong with her kidneys, though the doctors don't know what. They had to put her back in ICU. I don't get it!" Sam's father said as he slammed his fist against the stand holding the phone. He turned so his back was to Sam and continued his speech.

"They said she was doing well. How could things go so bad."

Sam wanted to comfort her father, but she too wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. This was her grandmother who she was very close to after all. She eventually found the correct words. "Dad, grandma will be ok. She won't give up without a fight. You know that, right?"

Her father still didn't turn to face her. He kept staring at the wall probably trying to hide his tears, but Sam knew he was crying. "They didn't just call to tell me they had to move her to the Intensive Care Unit. They asked me if I would authorize a blood transfusion. Since I am her eldest son I apparently have to make her medical decisions. They also had to stick a tube down her throat so she can breathe. I know she isn't on life support yet, but what happens if she gets worse. I don't think I can make the call to end her life."

If Sam didn't know what to say before, she really didn't know now. She was never in a situation like the one her father was describing. How would she know what to say?

Sam's father stopped shedding tears to walk up to the basket next to the door and grab a pair of keys from it. I am going to visit your grandmother in the hospital. Do you want to come? Sam didn't speak, she just slightly nodded her head and followed her dad.

At the hospital, Sam was surprised to find out that they weren't the only ones in the ICU patient waiting room. Even though it was around 5am, there were still a couple of other families in the room. Most of them were once again on their phones or tablets. This time though, Sam understood why they did that. It wasn't to bide their time or because they were bored, it was because they wanted a small distraction from the horrors that awaited them. They needed a little bit of comfort right now. Sam too, wanted a distraction and decided to call Danny. Its not like he was sleeping anyways, and she also needed some support. Her dad was a wreck so there was no way he would help. She took out her phone and dialed Danny's number. Two rings later, he answered.

"Hello, who is it?" he asked in a groggy voice.

_Maybe I was wrong about him sleeping. He gets so little sleep too. Well, he is already up and this is very important._

"Hey Danny."

Danny's voice seemed to pick up a little. "Hey Sam. How is your grandma doing?"

Sam looked over at her dad who was frantically looking around the waiting room. If he didn't calm down, he would have a panic attack. "Uh, there were some complications and now she is back in ICU. My dad is freaking out and I don't know what to do.

"Do you want me to come visit. My parents will understand and if I leave Jazz a note, she will relay the message."

Sam thought about if for a moment. She really did need someone right now, but it was unfair to Danny because he needed his sleep. Tucker was out of the question though. Guess it came down to how big of an emergency this was. Yes, get over here as soon as you can." The call was ended soon afterwards and Sam sat in her seat waiting. Two minutes later, Danny walked into the room. Sam's father would have vehemently objected and probably ask how Danny got their so fast, but he was too busy trying to not hyperventilate. Danny spotted Sam and sat next to her.

"So what happened to your grandma?"

Sam continued switched from watching her father to looking as Danny. "The doctors said that her heart was failing, her kidneys are acting yp, and her lungs also aren't working properly." Sam noticed Danny had a look in his eye but didn't understand why. Danny knew where this was going but Sam hasn't made the connection. From the way Danny heard it, Sam's grandmother wasn't doing too good and didn't sound like she would make it. There were always miracles though, right?

Sam paid Danny's look no mind as a nurse walked into the waiting room. "You are the Manson's, right?"

Sam's father was still hyperventilating, so Sam answered. "Me and my father are, but he is a family friend." Sam said while pointing at Danny.

The nurse looked at all three.

"Ok, you two", the nurse said gesturing to Sam and her father, "come with me. "You", she gestured to Danny, "stay out here. Sorry, but only family is allowed."

Sam got out of her seat and grabbed her father's hand so he would be in tow while she followed the nurse. They appeared in a hallway and two rooms down they saw Sam's grandmother, Ida Manson, with a tube in her mouth, several cords running into both of her arms, and a cord leading into her midsection which was attached to a big machine with a spinning center. Ever second Sam could hear a hissing sound and then a puffing sound coming from a machine. Sam looked in horror at the scene and even her father broke out of his daze to look at the scene. The nurse also looked at Ida.

"We had to perform an intubation so she could breathe. We are waiting for confirmation by our kidney specialist, but we have a dialysis machine all set up and ready to go. The rest of the cords are either IV's or serve miscellaneous purposes. After the intubation, she seemed to be doing really well and we just need to see how her kidneys are doing."

Sam didn't pay too much attention to what the nurse was saying. She instead watched as the huffing and puffing from the machine lined up with her grandmother's breathing. She walked over to her unconscious grandma and peeled back the blanket to notice the purplish puffy skin underneath it. Sam stepped back and put her hand up to her face trying her best to hide her stunned expression.

Her father also saw the skin and had to hold back a barf. He couldn't bare seeing his mother like that. If he didn't know any better, he would say that wasn't his mother, but some other poor soul.

A doctor walked into the room and hesitated to go any further once he noticed the broken expressions on both Manson's faces. "Uh, the kidney tests came back. They are still functioning. They aren't the best, but they will do. We don't need to put her on dialysis." the doctor walked out of the room before he could get a reaction.

Sam's father stared at his mother on the bed while Sam just sat in a chair to think things over. The nurse did her best to work around both of them. She removed some of Ida's blanket when she noticed she had a s slight fever, shr checked the monitors to make sure everything was working properly, and was also trying to log onto the room's computer with some difficulty. That is, until Sam realized this and asked. "Are we in your way? We can leave if it would make it easier on you." Sam didn't even wait for a response, she just grabbed her father's hand and led him out of the room. They walked out of the hospital with Danny following closely behind them. He offered to accompany Sam back to her house, but she declined. She just wanted to be alone. After another silent car ride back to her house, they got settled back into their mansion. Sam's father noticed there was a voicemail on their answering machine.

"Hello honey." It was definitely his wife. "I am sorry, but all the flights to Amity Park are cancelled so I won't be able to return home. Something about a huge thunderstorm heading to Amity Park. I am just going to stay here for a couple of days." the message ended and Sam didn't bother to say anything. She just walked up to her room and stayed in there for most of the night. Her father grabbed a couple bins in a closet and pulled them out. Inside were several pictures of his mother. Whether it be during a family reunion where she gathered the family for a photo, at Sam's birthday party watching her blow out the candles, at his wedding where she walked hand in hand with her husband, Sam's grandpa, or at her husband's funeral watching the casket be lowered into the ground. Sam got out of her room to notice her father looking inside the bin full of pictures.

"Dad, what are you doing?"

Sam's father grabbed another set of photos out of the bin before speaking.

"I am just looking at some older photos of your grandmother." he stopped at one picture and handed it to Sam." You know, your grandmother looked a lot like you when she was your age. She had violet eyes and black hair just like you. She also shared your personality. Always on a tirade about this or that. Or so I have been told her parents when they were still alive. I myself wasn't even born yet."

Sam stared at the picture. Her grandmother looked a lot like like her. Well, except for the hair style. Her grandmother had black bushy hair and seemed to be frowning at the camera. Apparently, she didn't like getting her picture taken. Sam took another handful of pictures and looked through them. One was her grandma holding her back as she tried to enter the monkey exhibit at the zoo, another was her grandma watching as Sam opened up one of her presents for Hanukah. Sam must have been around four or five then. As Sam looked at more pictures, she noticed she could tell her grandmother was aging. She would continue aging until she eventually died. That's when Sam realized that her grandmother might not make it. There was no way she would live forever and she isn't doing too good now. Sam put the pictures back in the bin and silently walked back up to her room. There, she cried for the rest of the night.

The next day the storm Sam's mother was talking about reached Amity Park. The wind was so bad that Sam wouldn't surprised if a tornado suddenly appeared and destroyed her entire block. That, coupled with the heavy rain, made it nearly impossible to reach the hospital. Sam had to do it though. She had to visit her grandmother for what may he the last time. Her father seemed to have the same idea as he was fully dressed and didn't seem to be paying much mind to the storm alerts flashing on his t.v. He just grabbed a set of keys to his car and waited for San to get ready to go.

The hospital was hectic and the ICU seemed to be the worst of them all. Doctors and nurses were running this way and that and didn't seem to pay Sam or her father much mind as they walked into the room of her grandmother. Were they surprised though, when they walked in they saw Sam's uncle Greg. Greg, or Gregory, was Sam's dad's brother and another son of Ida. Though, he was not the eldest and didn't want the Manson fortune. He instead decided to earn his own way in life and, last Sam heard, he became a salesperson. Greg got out of his seat and gave Sam's father a big hug.

"Hey Jeremy, how've you been lately?"

Jeremy shook off his shock to look at his mother. She looked even worse than she did yesterday. Her skin was even paler, and her fingers were extremely puffy.

"I am hanging in there one day at a time." Jeremy moved so Sam was in full view of Gregory.

"Of course you remember my daughter Samantha."

Greg stuck out his hand for Sam to shake. "Hello Sam, right? I can see you are going through your gothic phase."

Sam hated it when people called her personality and style a phase. She didn't plan on changing anytime soon.

"Do you mind if I talk to your father for a bit? You can just stay here and keep your grandmother company."

Was he trying to baby her? She was almost an adult not a kid. Sam stopped her little rant when she noticed the condition her grandmother was in. She looked so fragile like she could easily be broken.

"Ok Uncle Greg."

Greg lead Sam's father out of the room. To bide time, Sam decided to try and figure out what all the numbers on the monitor for her grandmother meant. There were three separate numbers. One seemed to be blood pressure. Sam recognized that from all the medical t.v shows. The other two though, Sam had no idea. The constant huffing was starting to annoy Sam and she would have ripped it out if she didn't know better. _Wait a second, that is controlling her breathing! Maybe the number that changes around 70 is her breathes a minute. It seems accurate. She does breathe around once a second. _

The last number was throwing Sam for a loop. There was no way she could possible get it. Just as Sam was about to give up, her father and uncle walked back in the room. Her father sat in a seat and shielded his face from Sam. Her uncle looked at her father with a sad look in his eyes before walking out of the room. Sam looked between her most likely crying father and her uncle who was leaving the room. "Dad, what was that about?"

Sam's dad didn't show his face. He, instead, mumbled through his hands. "Greg spoke to the doctor earlier. My mom has gotten worse than last time. Best case scenario is she will be on permanent life support. Greg told me mom wouldn't want that and would rather have a painless death. His decision doesn't matter though so it is just me who decides and I don't think I can do it."

Sam looked as her grandmother who was grimacing in pain. "Dad, you have to do whatever she wants. It doesn't matter what you want when dealing with some elses life." a small pit of worry and guilt grew in San's stomach as she said those lines. She knew that it wasn't that easy and she might not be able to make that call on her mother even though they weren't that close. Jeremy stopped silently crying to stare at Sam. "I know what I should do, but it is more of what I can do. Can I just watch as I basically kill my own mother?"

Sam looked at the ground. She had no answer for him. "When does Uncle Greg want you to pull the plug?"

"He wants it tomorrow so we can prepare. He also wants us to perform a Vidui."

Sam knew what that was. It was basically a sort of last rights for all dying Jews. It was the last prayer and confession before they died. Because her grandma couldn't talk, they rabbi would most likely just do the prayer.

At the Manson Mansion, Sam was still trying to find hope that her grandmother would live; that a miracle would be performed and she would rise up out of her bed, but she knew that wouldn't realistically happened. Her father appeared in the doorway to her room with keys in hand. "Me and your uncle are going to your grandmother. We are going to pull the plug on her. Do you want to come so she can see you before she goes?"

Sam barely had the energy to shake her head. She knew that she should've gone, but she didn't think she could look at her grandmother knowing what would happen and definitely couldn't be in the same room as she died. Sam watched as her father silently walked out of the house to get in his car. She could already tell that she made the wrong choice.

After all the Jewish rituals were performed, Ida seemed to be at peace and ready to visit her husband in heaven. The nurse gave Ida Manson a couple shots of morphine to block out the pain as the doctors pulled out the tube in her throat that was helping her breathe. Jeremy stroked his mother's hair and Greg held onto her hand as her breathing got slower, and slower, and slower, until it eventually stopped altogether. Jeremy looked into her eyes the entire time, and while he could be wrong, he could have sworn his mother was asking him why he was doing this to her. Once it was all done, Jeremy walked out of the room to go back into the waiting room and cry his heart out.

Sam never was able to say goodbye to her grandmother that day. Sam never gave her final farewell to her.

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**I would like to dedicate this story to my grandma. I hope you rest in peace and you are back with grandpa. **

**You guys could probably tell that I am not Jewish and don't know much about Vidui and all that stuff. If you would like to inform me on that, please feel free to do so.**

**I should return to writing my regular stories by Monday. This story has taken a lot of my time recently so I haven't been writing my other stories. Review if you want, but please don't leave any negative feedback. This isn't to showcase my writing but a dedication to my grandmother so show some respect.**


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